Groundhog Destroying Garden

[live on land]

We have a groundhog that has been destroying our garden since we planted. The problem is, that no matter how many times we have used a live trap with cat food, (cat food works great on racoons) we do not catch him. We live in town, so the idea of shooting is out of the question, without making neighbors mad, so we were wondering, what would be a good way to get rid of him????

Is there any kind of food we could put in the trap, or something else we might not of thought of? We have a fence around part of our garden, but he digs around or under it.

Thanks.

[JayinCT]

I catch them all the time in my live trap. I use lettuce along with a good smelling fruit. Apple or pear works best, but I have used oranges, banana's and grapefruit also. Let us know how you make out.

Jay

[big rockpile]

Use Apple send him down here.YUM! YUM!

big rockpile

[fin29]

Groundhogs are vegetarians--well mostly--which would explain why the cat food's ineffective.

[Wolf mom]

Having voles/moles, that eat grubs, I found the most effective thing to do in a garden is put chicken wire under raised bed rows.

[Rockin'B]

Banana's and apples work well as bait for ground hogs.

[BillHoo]

30 minutes is the max time it takes for me to catch a groundhog using a trap baited with:

A slice of apple smeared with peanut butter.

30 minutes and you'll have him!

If you do not plan to eat him, you should cover the trap with a blanket and drive no less than 9 miles away to release him.

[JayinCT]

Correction, if you don't plan to eat him, inject him preferably in the brain with lead prior to opening the trap. That keeps him from becoming someone elses problem when you take him away and release him.

It really bugs me when someone has a problem animal that they don't want it around their place. They set a live trap, catch it, take it for a ride and release it someone where else to become someone else's problem.

We don't take our garbage down the street far enough so we can't see it, and dump it on someone elses property, why do it with problem animals?

Jay

[MullersLaneFarm]

Apples work every time.

[live on land]

Thanks all! I'm gunna go set the trap now, and I'll tell ya'll if we catch him!

[goatsareus]

Originally Posted by live on land

Thanks all! I'm gunna go set the trap now, and I'll tell ya'll if we catch him!

And PLEASE dispatch the animal instead of carting it off to be some one elses problem, eh?

[comfortablynumb]

I have a whole family of groundhogs here the main burrow entrance is under a junked car.

they don bother my garden, they never have.

take your waste veggies and spread them near the hogs burrow, alog a fenceline or something. toss them apples and bad tomatoes and outer cabbage leaves... all the stuff youd toss out anyhow, and they will leave the garden aone.

they also really like salt blocks, set a few along the same fenceline or feeding zone.

I just was watching the bog fat mom and 4 babies wandering around out by the horse paddoc, munching on berry bush shoots.

the only real problem I ever had with them was when I planted brussel sprouts for the first time, they stripped them up as far as they could stretch.

but they like the big leaves you snap off the base, so I toss them now along the fence and they dont go looking to eat the sprouts on the stalk.

you might be over run with the little buggers, I only have2 "familys" one on eather end of the property.

we dont bother each other alal that much..... they are like low maintenance pets.

lol

[live on land]

Thanks for that tip, but we don't want the buggard in our garden, and there is no point in setting aside time from our busy schedules to throw them food to eat... If we got rid of him, then we wouldn't have to do that, saving us time... But thanks for the advice and the ideas, maybe some other time!

[comfortablynumb]

and there is no point in setting aside time from our busy schedules to throw them food to eat...

perhaps your schedules are to busy. Relaxing with the creatures you share the world with is very therapeutic.

but killing them to save time and energy works too.

"time is the fire in which we burn"

[Jim S.]

I hate groundhogs. I quit gardening when they moved in. I shot and shot, but they get gun shy pretty quick after the first couple eat lead.

Then I tried and tried to fence them out, they will dig down over a foot to get under a fence, I found out. That was hard work to put in there, too.

Finally, I gave up, and took some nice almost overripe bananas and cut them up and put them in a tin pie plate. Then I poured some nice sweet car antifreeze over the bananas. Oh, they ate that up like no tomorrow. That cut down the population quite a bit, right there.

My trouble is, on my neighbor's land is an abandoned barn that is like a groundhog nursery, and they keep cranking out more.

[JayinCT]

Time is always in short supply. I know myself, all of what you were talking about feeding to the groundhogs, is what I feed to my chickens and Goats. There is very little that goes to waist around my place, so having a mouth to feed that gives nothing in return would be bad enough, never mind a mouth to feed that eats and destroys the garden along the way. I say give them a good dose of lead and be done with it.

Jay

[BaronsMom]

Originally Posted by JayinCT

Correction, if you don't plan to eat him, inject him preferably in the brain with lead prior to opening the trap. That keeps him from becoming someone elses problem when you take him away and release him.

It really bugs me when someone has a problem animal that they don't want it around their place. They set a live trap, catch it, take it for a ride and release it someone where else to become someone else's problem.

We don't take our garbage down the street far enough so we can't see it, and dump it on someone elses property, why do it with problem animals?

Jay

Because wildlife - no matter what you think of it - isn't garbage

I agree homeowners shouldn't move their problem animals to someone else's property. There are also other ways of dealing with wildlife without filling it full of lead.

[MaineFarmMom]

We turned our farmcollies loose on them when the dogs were old enough and large enough to not get hurt. I'd risk making the neighbors mad if you can get a safe shot. This is part of your food supply - it's important.

[TwoAcresAndAGoat]

Eliminating a Burrow

Backfill a burrow in an embankment with mud-packing, This simple, inexpensive method can be accomplished by placing one or two lengths of metal stove or vent pipe in a vertical position over the entrance of the den. Making sure that the pipe connection to the den does not leak, the mud-pack mixture is then poured into the pipe until the burrow and pipe are filled with the earth-water mixture. The pipe is removed and dry earth is tamped into the entrance. The mud-pack is made by adding water to a 90 percent earth and 10 percent cement mixture until a slurry or thin cement consistency is attained. All entrances should be plugged with well-compacted earth and vegetation re-established.

Groundhogs can be controlled by using fumigants or by shooting. Fumigation is the most practical method of controlling groundhogs.

Around buildings or other high fire hazard areas, shooting may be preferable. Groundhogs will be discouraged from inhabiting an area if the vegetal cover is kept mowed.

Gas cartridges may be purchased at local farm exchanges or farm supply centers. Also, most county extension offices keep supplies of cartridges for sale. Information about the use and availability of gas cartridges may be obtained from the U.S. Department of Agriculture at the following address:

The USDA
Animal Plant Health Inspection Service
Animal Damage Control
200 North High Street, Room 622
Columbus, Ohio 43215
(614) 469-5681

[Rockin'B]

Originally Posted by BaronsMom

Because wildlife - no matter what you think of it - isn't garbage

I agree homeowners shouldn't move their problem animals to someone else's property. There are also other ways of dealing with wildlife without filling it full of lead.

Do tell.....what do you suggest as a solution to ground hogs destroying a garden?

Thanks.